Friday, March 1, 2013

Research on pioneer artist

From the Maitland Mercury report:
Paterson’s links to a pioneering artist and author will be explored during the town’s ­annual heritage walk.

Author, illustrator and natural historian John William Lewin travelled to the Hunter Valley in 1801 and 1805 with James Grant, William Paterson and surgeon John Harris, who were exploring the potential for a settlement to be established in the region.
He spent time sketching the flora and fauna of the Hunter, with some of those drawings later appearing in his tome Birds of New South Wales, the first illustrated book to be published in Australia.
Mr Lewin and his work will form the major theme for the heritage walk being conducted by the Paterson Historical Society on March 10.